Air India Seeks Over Rs. 2,100 Crore From Centre To Pay Vendors

State-owned carrier Air India has sought 21.21 billion rupees ($309 million) of additional equity from the government for the fiscal year 2018-19 to make pending payments to its vendors, a source at the airline told Reuters on Monday.
Air India owes about 18 billion rupees to its vendors, including lessors and banks that have demanded payment from the beleaguered airline, after the government's unsuccessful efforts to find a buyer for its 76 percent stake.

The airline expects to receive the additional equity within the next 7 to 10 days after which it will be able to clear all dues, the source said, adding that this is above the 6.5 billion rupees it has already received for the year.

The government last month shelved a plan to sell a majority stake in Air India due to lack of interest from bidders, in the latest setback in its ambitious efforts to rescue the ailing airline that has survived for years using taxpayer funds.

San Francisco, United States-based Wells Fargo Trust Services and UAE's state-owned Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) have sent letters of demand for pending rental payments, the newspaper said, citing sources.

A DAE spokesman told Reuters that they were not owed $10 million by Alliance Air, and that they had not issued a notice of default to Alliance.

Alliance Air is a unit of Air India that operates regional flights to smaller towns and cities in India.

Wells Fargo could not be reached outside usual U.S. business hours.